City striker nets hat-trick in Portsmouth trial

The 20-year-old Moroccan striker was one of several trialists being looked at by Pompey boss Danny Cowley as he continues to shape his squad for the upcoming campaign in League One.

Ahadme came off the bench to bag a three-goal salvo in under 30 minutes against National League South side Havant and Waterlooville, helping Pompey secure a 5-2 win in their opening friendly of pre-season.

Norwich beat off several European clubs to sign Ahadme from Club Gimnastic Manresa, who play the lower reaches of Spain's footballing pyramid, in January 2019. The Moroccan was the Canaries' U23s top scorer in the 2019/20 Premier League 2 season, scoring six goals in 14 games.

The striker then headed out on loan to Segunda Division side Real Oviedo Vetusta, but only featured on six occasions without scoring.

Reports on the south coast suggest Ahadme has joined Portsmouth on trial with the view to earning a contract after leaving Norfolk, although the striker wasn't named in the club's released and retained list in May.

City do send their young talent out on trial to earn loan moves to EFL sides, as was the case with young goalkeeper Aston Oxborough heading to Salford last summer before injuring his Achilles tendon.

Ahadme has impressed Pompey boss Cowley, who praised his performance and described him as a 'real problem' for defenders.

“We're calling him Triallist H. He did okay didn’t he? He did okay,” Cowley told Portsmouth News after the youngster's hat-trick.

“I thought he played well. He came in and joined the group only yesterday and I thought it was a complete number nine performance.

“I thought he played with a lot of intelligence, I thought he played long to short and linked the play really well for us.

“I thought he also made runs in behind, I thought he caused the Havant back line a real problem and to score three goals is obviously a great moment for any striker.”